Ashwini Ponnappa plays against Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu during their women’s doubles badminton group stage match at Porte de la Chapelle Arena during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo)
Indian doubles badminton shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa on Tuesday conceded that she didn’t receive financial support from the sports ministry for the Paris Olympics, as opposed to a recent document shared from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), also stating that even her desired choice for a coach was denied.
The SAI recently shared a document detailing the financial support provided to the several athletes in the Indian contingent for Paris 2024, in which it was mentioned that Ashwini was provided Rs 4,50,000 under TOPS and Rs 1,48,04,080 under Annual calender for Training and Competition (ACTC).
“I’m absolutely shocked.. I don’t mind not getting money but telling the nation that I got money is ridiculous. I haven’t received it. Like if you’re talking about national camp, then that 1.5 Crore is spent on all the campers,” Ashwini told PTI.
“I don’t have a specific coach. As for my personalised trainer, I’m paying for him myself. I’m not taking money from anyone. I’ve played on my own until November (2023). I was included as part of TOPS only after we qualified…” Ashwini added.
Ponnappa, who completed the set of gold, silver and bronze medals for India at the Commonwealth Games, was knocked out of the doubles badminton event at Paris 2024 during the group stage without registering a single win alongside Tanisha Crasto – her third time featuring at the Summer Games. An exit that had left her to tears.
She conceded that while she took full responsibility for her performance, the authorities were wrong in claiming that she received adequate financial support.
“I haven’t played well, irrespective of the coach not being there, I take responsibility for that. But you can’t say I’m getting this amount when I haven’t even got this amount,” she said.
“The ministry has always supported me. I’ve been part of the team for years and I’m grateful for the support I’ve received. The last year I haven’t been supported and it’s ok. But you can’t say I’ve been given Rs 1.5 crore, if it’s over four years, fair enough. As I was TOPS when I was partnering Sikki,” she added.
“Playing her third Olympics, Ashwini was left in tears after she and her partner Tanisha couldn’t win a single match to make an unceremonious exit from the group stage.
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First uploaded on: 13-08-2024 at 19:15 IST
